Not the first sale, the second
Kathy Sierra frequently has thoughtful things to say, and in this post about the nod, she talks about the look one user gives another when marketing is done right.
Which got me thinking about the real point of marketing. It’s not to sell something to person A. Instead, at least right now, it’s to get person A to encourage person B to buy/do something. That’s often viewed as a nice after effect, a bonus or an extra. I think, though, that it might be the entire point of the exercise.
Was your vote in the last election based on one hundred interactions with friends, colleagues and respected media voices, or was it based on what you learned from tv commercials and junk mail?